“The Greatest Snow on Earth”:  Salt Lake City, Utah area

Thursday January 8 to Tuesday January 13, 2009

This is SkiBudz first official trip of the 2008-2009 season for all ability levels (sorry Jackson Hole fans!).  It consists of the following events, plus whatever else we “invent” along the way (you decide Budz, because this trip is for you!):

• Fly to Salt Lake City, Utah on Thursday January 8, 2009.

• Check in at the Royal Garden Garden Inn, which is in downtown Salt Lake City.
• Four days of skiing/riding four different resorts (Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday).  We will definitely go to Snowbasin one day (http://snowbasin.com/).  The other three will be by consensus (most likely The Canyons in Park City as well:  http://thecanyons.com/).  Other contenders are Brighton (http://www.brightonresort.com/), Powder (http://www.powdermountain.com/), and Park City Resort (http://www.parkcitymountain.com/winter/index.html).  We are renting SUV’s with ski racks (we are still waiting for them to invent board racks, meantime boarders please bring bungee cords) at the Salt Lake City airport (that’s “slc” budz and girls!).  You can check out areas through http://www.skiutah.com/ and http://rideutah.com/. 
• Downtown Salt Lake City nightlife where there’s a smorgasbord of restaurants and two gay bars (not exactly Sidetracks…but they’re “private clubs”.).  

Pluses of this trip:  We will be going to a different resort each day.  The terrain and its variety and the snow are second to none, the ease of and time involved in the travel to Salt Lake City are minimal, the low cost of the downtown lodging and the included breakfast, the non-resort nightlife, discount lift tickets and a full service ski/board shop steps from the hotel and potential for champagne powder!   Overall, an excellent value.

Carpool Captain volunteers needed:  To minimize costs, we need guys who own a car or otherwise have auto liability and collision insurance (that they would be willing to apply) to rent SUV’s.  Right now, I am finding that they go for around $500-$800 (with tax) for our five day period (anybody get corporate/special rates?).  Please look for good deals and go ahead and reserve them now.  Fox Car Rental, which one of the Budz has used and recommended, has much lower rates (http://foxrentacar.com/), though they are “off airport”.  If we have too many, we can always cancel.  Please reserve both a “standard sized” (like a GMC Jimmy-smaller one) and a “premium sized” (like an Explorer that seats five adults) with a ski rack.  When we get close to the trip date, we’ll decide which vehicles to rent based on the pools we form.  This will be based on the number of guys going.  When you have reserved a vehicle, please forward the reservation to me (ray@...) so I can track them.  We need to fill these pigs up!!  At the end of the trip, the “Carpool Captains” collect from the riders.

Steps to book this trip

1. Make a reservation at the Royal Garden Inn in downtown Salt Lake City.  I recommend you do this even if you are seeking to share a room as you can always cancel without penalty if you follow the restrictions.  My suggestion is a room with two queen beds if you are considering sharing the room.  You can book on-line or call.  I would try both and compare.  Look for and ask for AAA discounts (they do not verify membership).  No deposit is required, just a credit card.  Beware of cancellation restrictions.  Here’s the website:  http://www.bwgardeninn.com/.

2. Volunteer Carpool Captains:  Reserve those SUV’s (see above)!  Thanks for your help!

3. Book a flight to Salt Lake City, Utah (airport code:  slc).  As we get closer to the trip date, we may designate a particular flight as the SkiBudz flight.  Since Southwest is not yet being competitive on this flight (as of 9/6/08), I will hold off on doing so. 

4. If you need to rent gear, or need anything else, there is a Canyon Sports adjacent to our motel.  Here’s the website (it is the downtown location):  http://www.canyonsports.com/.  If you need assistance with rentals, please let me know.  Other shops are near our motel as well.

5. Send me an email with your flight information (ray@...) and whether you are bringing or renting gear.

6. Go to the pre-trip “meet and greet” which will most likely be at Crew.  This will be announced around the New Year.  This is also an opportunity to find a Bud to room with if you so desire.

7. A few days before departure, let me know if you are seeking to share a ride to the airport.  Include your address and whether you are bringing gear.

8. If there is a Carpool Captain at the airport at the time of your arrival that has room, they will put you in their SUV to go to the hotel.  If not, the Hotel has a courtesy shuttle.  Call them at 801-325-5386 to arrange for pickup.  If you’re in a hurry to put your eyeliner on before we go out, you can just cab it (not far).

Cost Projections as of 11/11/08*

Airfare:  $239 on Southwest Airlines (up to two bags free)

Motel:     $225 (my room is $450 with tax.  Assumes double occupancy)

SUV share with

Fuel:         $ 175 (help me find better rates on SUV’s please!)

Lift tix:    $ 240

Total      $879 plus meals other than breakfast, plus gear rentals, if any

*These costs are estimates based on rates on the date above.  No one is responsible for any errors.  Lift tickets rate is an educated guess.  Verify all information before relying on it.  Beware of baggage handling fees.  Check with the airlines.